Using non-dominant arm extends area baseball players' careers

On a cold, gloomy November morning, Preston Cronk was moments from a college baseball scholarship when he arrived at North Carolina Wesleyan.

On the 12th pitch of a bullpen session in front of coaches, Cronk threw a fastball and tore a ligament in his right elbow.

He pitched through the pain, but his velocity and control were gone.

So was his scholarship.

"I never thought it would or could happen," Cronk said. "It was shocking that it happened at that time, because that was supposed to be when I had my best stuff."

The Dr. Phillips senior is on the field this season, though, using his non-dominant arm. So is another area player. Orange City University senior outfielder Tony Sanden is throwing right-handed this spring after injuring his left shoulder.

"I've been playing baseball since I was 6 years old,'' Sanden said. "To stop playing baseball just was not an option.''

Sanden dislocated his shoulder and damaged tendons in his rotator cuff in an outfield collision nearly two years ago. He re-injured that shoulder playing linebacker during the 2011 football season, putting his baseball future in jeopardy.

A casual conversation with a friend gave Sanden the idea to throw and bat right-handed.

"At first, I was really sloppy,'' said Sanden, who will play football at Lindenwood-Belleville University in Illinois. "I had the strength to get it to someone, just didn't have the accuracy.''

Cronk cringed at the thought of missing his final season at Dr. Phillips.

"It was disappointment mostly,'' said Cronk, who was expected to be DP's No. 3 starter but is now a reliever. "It's my favorite sport, and I wasn't going to be able to play it.''

After a discussion with his parents and coaches, Cronk delayed surgery and began pitching left-handed at the suggestion of Panthers coach Mike Bradley.

Cronk received pitching lessons from his travel-ball coach, Joe Logan, and often worked with Bradley in the two months before tryouts.

"The biggest thing was trying to get him mechanically sound," said Logan, who pitched five seasons in the Montreal Expos' minor-league organization. "My hat is off to the kid. Never in my wildest dreams could I think about doing that."

Said Bradley: "People would give up by now. They wouldn't do what he's doing. It's like trying to write with your opposite hand. You can do it, but it's going to take a lot longer to get what you want accomplished, and your arm will burn."

Cronk got off to a shaky start in his left-handed debut.

"I pegged the first guy I hit and walked the next two,'' he said. "There was a lot of nervousness.''

Cronk threw in the low-to-mid 80-mph range and featured a changeup and fastball before his injury. His velocity now gets into the low 70s, and he throws almost exclusively fastballs.

"It was very difficult at first, but I'm getting used to it,'' Cronk said. "I'm doing all right.''

Cronk intends to have surgery after DP's season. The recovery is 10-12 months, but regardless of the future, he's happy to be on the field.